Not Scary Birth Story #2

If you've already read about the birth of my first child, then you know two things: it was ridiculously easy and she was a little early.  Those two things are exactly what I expected when I was pregnant with my next baby.

As I counted down the weeks to her arrival, my countdown stopped at 38 weeks.  I just assumed she'd be on her sister's timeline.  Ha!  Mommy Lesson #2: even though they have the same parents and are raised the exact same, each child is completely unique.  When I hit 38 weeks I remember saying, "I've never been this pregnant before" and feeling done.

Since my pregnancies had both been extremely uneventful, my appointments at the OB-GYN went like this:
Doctor:  How are you?
Me:  Awesome.
Doctor: Any questions?
Me: Nope.  See you next week.

So when I walked into his office at 39 weeks, and said "I'm over being pregnant," I probably shocked him.  But what he said next was a bigger surprise.  He asked when I wanted to have the baby.  I get to pick?  He took out his smart phone, shared his work calendar, and said I was eligible for induction.  I picked the next available date, which just happened to be the 4th of July.

Totally naive, I didn't realize there were such mixed feelings about being induced.  When I hear people talk about it, it sounds like a full throttle, excruciating nightmare.  However, that wasn't my experience at all.

The morning she was scheduled to be born, I got up early & continued to Google baby names (we were 99.9% sure her name would be Harper, but her middle name was harder to select).  Since we had some time to kill, we got Matt some breakfast at Starbucks.  The barrista asked if we had any plans for the day, and I bet he didn't expect us to say we were having a baby in a few hours.

We checked into the hospital, got the meds started, and then waited.  I read gossip magazines because that's what I do when I'm on vacation.  Having a baby is kind of like a vacation, right???

Around 1, I requested that Matt get the nurse.  When she came in, she told us it was time.  I can't remember what we were chatting about as she prepped the room for delivery, but she told me I had to stop laughing.  Otherwise the doctor wouldn't have time to get there.

He arrived and, within minutes, so did Harper.  My own little Miss America.  It's fun to look back at baby pictures of her because there's just so much "Harper" in these.

Fortunately, my request to go home early were heard and we were able to leave early the next morning.  I had never left Georgia overnight before and was ready to get our new family of 4 together.  Seeing how tiny (6 pounds, 13 ounces) she was absolutely kills me.

Thankfully, my girls have been best friends from the second they met and the transition from a family of 3 to a family of 4 was relatively easy.  Harper was the mellowest baby on the planet, which only seems fitting since her delivery was so stress-free.  Maybe she's saving all the drama for her high school years.

Not Scary Birth Stories

As I get closer to the welcoming of Baby #3 into our family, I'm more and more obsessed with all things baby.  My husband laughs at me whenever he catches me ohh-ing and ahh-ing over infants I have absolutely no connection to.  One of the things I've been reading up on are birth stories.

Having two children already, I'm pretty comfortable with the whole giving birth process.  My expectation is that this delivery will go similarly to the last two.  And even if it doesn't, I've got an amazing team of people to support me.

But reading all of these birth stories online has made it very clear why mamas-to-be are freaked out!  Most sound like they are Halloween specials!  Not so, ladies.  Not so!  Having a baby can be a miraculously easy day.

So I wanted to share with you my stories...not too brag about my easy deliveries or make you think I'm Super-Mom, but just so the truth is out there.  People do have easy deliveries!

Georgia's Birthday...
Georgia was born on what was to be my last day of work before maternity leave.  I was 37, almost 38 weeks, pregnant.  And to be completely honest, I wasn't ready.  I got up for work and was rushing around, trying to get to a parent/teacher conference on time.  Then my water broke.

Being a first-time mom and in denial, I wasn't convinced I was in labor.  It wasn't time yet!  Lesson #1 in Mommydom: Kids have their own agendas.  I woke my husband, we called our moms, and decided we should go to the hospital.  At first, I was calm.  We packed up some essentials and the dogs (they were staying at my parents', not joining us in the delivery room).  It wasn't until about two hours later that I started stressing we weren't at the hospital yet.

                            Leaving my parents' for the hospital--I don't remember being that big!


After we arrived at the hospital and they confirmed my water had broken (did they think I had just been peeing constantly for hours???), I was checked in.

And then we hung out.  Since I wasn't having contractions, I was given pitocin to give the process a jump start.  At first the contractions were no big deal.  As soon as they became painful, I asked for an epidural and ceased texting my out-of-town siblings.

Everybody is different, and has a unique plan for their child's birth.  Mine involved high-fiving modern medicine and decreasing pain.  If your birth plan is different than mine, awesome!  It'd be really boring to Google "birth stories" if we all had the same one.

The epidural allowed me to take a nap.  Sometime in the day (probably after administering happy drugs), I was asked if I would mind if the medical students were present during the delivery.  I had imagined it would mean one or two extra people.  Maybe my memory betrays me, but I feel like there were a dozen of them.  Considering I'm actually kind of shy, I'm shocked that I allowed it.

The actual delivery was short...there weren't hours of pushing, swearing, or snarling at my husband.  Just 20 minutes and then our sweet baby arrived.  She was tiny with great big eyes and insanely long eyelashes.

I was grateful at how easy the whole process had been (mostly for myself, but also for my sister who was also pregnant and due less than a month later).  Honestly, that was it.  I went into the hospital in the morning, had a baby in the afternoon, and hung out with my family until I was released to go home.  And this was the more dramatic of my deliveries.

 Cousins...born 2 weeks apart.

I'll be posting about the birth of Harper 21 months later next.  

Adjusting the Original Nestle Tollhouse Recipe

Today was a return-to-the-original baking day.  Today we rocked the Nestle Tollhouse Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe.

While I stick pretty closely to the recipe, I do make a few adjustments.  One, I double the vanilla.  The recipe calls for one teaspoon, but two is twice as wonderful!  Second, I use Crisco.  I'll be honest, the idea of Crisco grosses me out.  I don't exactly know what's in it, and that's probably for the best.  I like how fluffy the cookies become when using Crisco.

I'm sure I'm not alone in my slight twerking of the traditional recipe.  What are your adjustments to the original?  

Bump Update: 20 Weeks

20 weeks.  That means we're at the halfway point!  As much as it feels like this pregnancy has flown by, it also shocks me that there is still so much time before we'll be bringing our little friend home.

Well into the 2nd trimester, I'm feeling pretty darn fantastic.  The tiredness of the 1st trimester has been replaced by the desire to eat (and eat and eat).  There's a balance between eating the extra necessary calories and eating the Halloween candy that calls to me.  

It's true when they say you feel the baby kick faster with each pregnancy. At first, I could just feel kicks moving in the evening when I finally sat down.  Now it's more frequent and throughout the day.  Each time I like to pause and see what else may happen.   By 18 weeks, it was even noticeable to family members.  Harper figured out when the baby was active, she could coral her by poking one side of my belly.  Tormenting her younger sibling in utereo.  

I have three different pregnancy apps on my phone (each has things I like, but none is perfect).  They disagree slightly about things like the size of the bambino.  The middle ground seems to be about the length of a banana.  That seems huge!  

That does not look comfortable!

We announced (finally) to our family and friends the gender of our baby.  The big sisters came with us to the ultrasound so they would be the first to know.  The ultrasound technician was very patient with their badgering about the gender.  Apparently, Georgia & Harper were less interested in knowing about the anatomy scan.  Mama and Daddy were happy to hear everything looks great!

So...pink or blue?  I posted the question on Facebook, and was amused by the number of boy votes.  Probably just an assumption that after two girls, we'd for sure be having a boy.  Not this time, ladies and gentlemen!

We'll be inviting one more to the girl party!  It's all princesses and tutus here, and we can't wait to meet the little lady!

We took a zillion pictures, but the silly ones turned out to be my favorite.  

Balloons make her so happy, and so did finding out she's going to have a second little sister.

Keeping Baby's Gender a Secret...for Now

Call it Grandma Torture, but we know the gender of our baby...and we're not telling yet.

The normal schedule at my OB is to schedule an anatomy ultrasound around 18 weeks.  During this appointment you can find out the gender if you're interested.  We had an ultrasound at 12 weeks, and I thought it couldn't hurt to ask if I should start buying pink or blue clothing.  Of course it was too early to tell.  Because of swelling, boy & girl parts all kinda look the same that early on.

But then the magic happened!  We went into Before the Stork in Anaheim, and Terry was able to tell us definitely the gender even though I was less than 14 weeks pregnant at the time.  The total appointment lasted about 10 minutes, but during that time she checked the parts from every imaginable angle.

The Gender Special package is advertised on their website for $59.  Here's what it includes:

• 10 minute 2D ultrasound
• 2 black & white photos
• DVD recording of your session
• GE Voluson 730 EXPERT System (don't exactly know what that is, but it sounds fancy!)
• Viewing for all of your guests
• Hearing baby's heartbeat
• A sneak peek at a 3D ultrasound

We had previously visited Before the Stork to get a sneak peek at our older children.  Technology is crazy!  In addition to being able to see their sweet faces, we got to see some mannerisms and positions.

Baby Harper 

So now, what are we waiting for?  Call me crazy (or hormonal...I can blame all kinds of things on being pregnant that really aren't related), but I wanted the announcement to be just that, an announcement.  Getting everybody together has been a planning dilemma.  I'm still planning, and driving everyone crazy in the meantime.

Boy or girl, we're thrilled!  Just a little big longer, and I promise I'll spill the beans!

A New Sibling Scavenger Hunt

If you haven't heard the news, we're having a baby!  Everybody is super excited, especially our older children.  My husband and I were so excited about sharing the news with them, and wanted to make it a very special day.

Since our Scooby Doo Mystery Party, the girls have been pretty excited about mysteries and scavenger hunts, so we thought it'd be a fun way for them to find out they are going to be big sisters!

The Hunt:
Harper found the initial clue & instructions taped to her wall.

After solving each clue, they were rewarded with a letter (they spelled out BABY).

She wasn't sure what was in store, but it didn't matter she was thrilled!

Each clue was read by my husband.  They were very simple rhymes so that both girls (they are 4 & 5) could help solve the mystery.

After they found the next letter!

This was the final clue that the girls found.

Georgia's reaction was priceless.  She stared at my belly for a good five minutes.  Her first statement was, "Congratulations!  Thank you!"  

We felt like there needed to be a gift for the new big sisters.  Honestly, when isn't a gift a good idea?  So the girls both got new Mickey Mouse ears, but instead of their names we had "Big Sister" embroidered on them.

Dancing for joy at the thought of a baby joining our family.

Adding a new member to the family is such an exciting time.  I'm so grateful for the reaction both of the girls had when finding out the news.  By making it a special day for them, we are letting them know how big of a party it will be when there's another member of our family.

Hello Kitty Ladybug Mantle

Our house has this odd extra room that was originally built to repair marching band equipment.  It's a super fun space for parties.  Part of the charm is the fireplace so the birthday girl and I decided it needed to be decorated for her Hello Kitty Ladybug Party.  Here's what we did for next to no money and very little time.  

We printed a picture of the birthday girl on the day she was born and then a picture for each year.  Since she turned 4, using 4 pictures would have been logical...but there are 5 hooks!

The cost:  The boards were leftover from her 1st birthday party, so I didn't have to buy anything new there.  The red & black scrapbook paper was part of my collection so that was free too.  Colored ink can be costly, but I printed them at grandpa's house (score!!!).  

On either side of the mantle I placed spray painted flower pots with flowers I cut out on my Cricut.  The flower pots were leftovers too, but I did have to buy the red spray paint.  But since I begged grandpa to paint them for me, it saved me time (double score!!!).  

Harper was super happy looking at pictures of herself.  She made me transfer the newborn picture to her room, but she carried it around for a few days talking about how cute she was.  This momma agrees!